My potatoes need company

blacbird

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First, the kind of potato matters considerably. Big brown-skinned russets are ideal for baking, not so much for other forms of cooking.

But for other kinds of potatoes (and I raise my own, several varieties), I like skillet-style meals, with onion, bell peppers, kohlrabi, tomatillo, swiss chard stems and/or celery and/or bok choy, ham or sausage, all cubed up to bite-size, sautéed in a little olive oil with ground black pepper and maybe a little hot sauce like tabasco to preference. Top that with a couple of soft-fried eggs.

Even simpler is a recipe my wife came up with: Cube up potatoes, mix with olive oil and ground pepper, spread on a cookie sheet and bake in oven at ~350 degrees for about fifteen minutes (check on 'em for doneness). Great and easy side dish. I've productively added chopped onion and cubed kohlrabi* to this dish.

caw


*kohlrabi is one of the most under-appreciated vegetables, great either raw or cooked, excellent in stews, stir-fries, crock-pot veggie/meat roasts, etc. It can be peeled and cut, raw, into sticks like carrot sticks for munchy relish trays. Bright, sweet flavor. Cooked, it tastes like a very mild-flavored turnip. If you garden, it's dead easy to grow, too.
 
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Pikko

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Yeah I have four big brown russets, which was why I was asking for what to pair them with if I baked them. My son requested curry, so I'll be down to three potatoes after dinner tomorrow.

Would russets work well for breakfast potatoes? I've actually always wanted to make that and never have.
 

Ken

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Why not save yourself the hassle of cooking and just pick up a bag of potato chips or doritos?

For dip, you can use velveeta. Yum, YUM, YUMMY !
Especially if you add a cup of sour cream and bacon bits :p

Your son'd like that plenty I'll wager !

Sure. It isn't exactly the healthiest entree. Whatevah.

Taste is what matters !

Bon Appetit :)
 

sassandgroove

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mmmm good with baked potatoes...

well you could just have baked potatoes with bacon bits and cheese and sour cream and chives, or have twice baked potatoes with ...wait for it...bacon and cheese. Have I mentioned bacon?

things that are good with baked potatoes:
ribs
pork chops
hamburgers
 

00Pepper

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Although I rarely buy it I do have a sneaking fondness for Velveeta myself. Especially Velveeta grilled cheese sandwiches (must be white bread and buttered with real butter and fried til crispy, golden and all melty *swoon*) and my favourite, tuna, minced onion with mayo spread on bread topped with Velveeta and put under the broiler til everything is hot and the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Now I have a yen for Velveeta. :(

How on earth have I never thought to use Velveeta for grilled cheese sandwiches? And I'm trying the tuna/velveeta sandwich too! :D

Mom raised us on Velveeta (my God, that word is in my auto complete dictionary) until Dad rebelled and we switched to 2 lb loaves of Tillamook cheddar. Thank you Dad!

The only thing it is good for is melting for cheese sauce. Roux with melted cheddar is much better.

That's the only thing I've ever used Velveeta for. Yum!
 

sassandgroove

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Cut them up. Fry them. Throw in a pound of ground beef (previously fried). Smother in Velveeta.

Gah! I just made myself hungry. Now I have to stop at the store on the way home.

Shadow you are BRILLIANT! Though we don't have velveeta so I'll have to make cheese sauce but mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
My hubby doesn't like his food touching so he vetoed this yesterday. I think I'll make it next week, I'll make him a hamburger and potatoes, and then mix my meat into the rest of the potatoes and add cheese.

Also, since the thread is derailed anyway...
Ferret you can make cheese sauce without the pool of grease. I got a recipe from my Betty Crocker cook book. You melt some butter, then stirring constantly (a wooden spoon works best) add some flour until it thickens then add milk and it gets all creamy then add shredded cheese and stir until it's all smooth. I love velveeta but this is the real deal and tastes soo good. Plus you can vary the kinds of cheese. Sorry I don't have quantities, I just throw stuff in the pan until it looks right.
ETA: Here allrecipes.com says it better: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cheese-....aspx?evt19=1&prop24=hn_slide2_How-to-Make-Ch
Gettin' Saucy


Classic cheese sauce begins with a béchamel sauce, a simple sauce made of butter, flour, milk, and a few seasonings.
To begin, make a roux:

  • Measure out equal amounts of butter and flour.
  • Dice the butter into small cubes and melt it in a saucepan over low heat.
  • Once the butter is melted, begin whisking in the flour.
  • When all the flour is incorporated, continue stirring and cooking for a few minutes to activate the starch granules.
  • If you're making a white or light-colored cheese sauce, keep the heat low so the roux doesn't brown.
  • Next comes the milk. If the roux is hot, the milk should be cool, but if the roux is cool, the milk should be hot. When you combine the ingredients at different temperatures, they heat up at a moderate rate--not too fast, and not too slow--creating a velvety-smooth sauce.
  • Whisk the mixture until smooth, then add seasonings if you wish. Traditional seasonings for béchamel are diced onion, a bay leaf, a couple cloves, and a pinch of nutmeg.
  • Allow the sauce to simmer until it gets to the consistency you want, then strain out any seasonings. If you're in a hurry, you can keep the sauce over high heat, but you'll want to keep whisking to prevent it from burning.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and gently blend in the cheese. If the cheese doesn't seem to be melting, return the pan to very low heat, but watch it carefully and remove as soon as the cheese is melted.
 
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Torgo

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HOW TO MAKE A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH:

1. Purchase Velveeta.
2. Read label on Velveeta.
3. Shudder. Dispose of Velveeta safely, away from children or animals.
4. Purchase some mature cheddar and grate it.
5. Put a light layer of olive oil on one side of a piece of white bread. Flip it over.
6. Put layer of grated cheese on the unoiled side and season.
7. Put another piece of white bread on top. Oil top side of sandwich.
8. Put sandwich in a hot griddle pan. Put an iron pot lid on top to press it down.
9. Flip over when bottom toasted and toast the top.
10. Serve with beer.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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HOW TO MAKE A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH:

1. Purchase Velveeta.
2. Read label on Velveeta.
3. Shudder. Dispose of Velveeta safely, away from children or animals.
What exactly does your label say that makes you shudder? Because I can't figure it out, unless you're just a food snob. In which case, why are you using WHITE bread. Now THAT makes me shudder.

And I gave up beer, too.
 

Torgo

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What exactly does your label say that makes you shudder? Because I can't figure it out, unless you're just a food snob.

I'm going to go for "Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread". I am also going to entirely OWN my cheese snobbery (and I am gently trolling you, too, sorry about that.)

In which case, why are you using WHITE bread. Now THAT makes me shudder.

Because toasted cheese should be served on white bread. The bread, actually, can be processed plastic white bread for this kind of thing. It's the plastic cheese I REFUSE to COUNTENANCE.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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Ah. Velveeta contains milk, water, milk fat, whey, whey protein concentrate and milk protein concentrate. It also has the same nutritional analysis as cheese, and in fact, might have a little less calories and fat, although a higher sodium content.

And I don't even allow white bread in the house any more (unless its Italian, French, or one of those denser country loafs). You know what's good? Pumpernickel grilled cheese. Sour dough is good too.

And spread the outside of the bread to be griddled with lots of real butter.
 
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Kylabelle

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Is there no thread for the joys and perils of bad-for-you food?

I mean. Velveeta is only the gateway drug here. ETA: Ferret, we cross posted. :D

Pikko, how was the curry? I grew up eating a version of curry from a recipe I learned my mom got from my Aunt Helen who likely got it from a newspaper. We would sometimes have curried shrimp for holidays, with lovely little dishes of condiments: chutney, candied ginger, toasted almonds, crumbled bacon.

Ooh.

When I learned that people put potatoes in curry I had a very hard time coming to terms with that. Childhood food habits die hard, I guess.
 
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Pikko

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Well, we only eat Japanese curry so I use curry blocks. My favorite is the Vermont brand (I buy it in packs on Amazon) mild, it's the apple and honey one. I never ate much curry growing up, but when I moved to Honolulu, my college friends took me out to this place called Coco Ichibanya and I was a fan of Japanese curry for life!

And yeah, I put potatoes in it, just like stew. lol
 

Haggis

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I'm going to go for "Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread". I am also going to entirely OWN my cheese snobbery (and I am gently trolling you, too, sorry about that.)



Because toasted cheese should be served on white bread. The bread, actually, can be processed plastic white bread for this kind of thing. It's the plastic cheese I REFUSE to COUNTENANCE.
I'm more of a snob than you, Torgo. No plastic bread for me, unless I can't avoid it. But a grilled cheese sammich with real cheese (not that plastic packaged stuff either) on homemade white bread is to die for.
 

Pikko

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I don't think I've ever in my life made a grilled cheese sandwich with grated cheese. I'm all about the American cheese Kraft singles! :D

Also, ever had a grilled cheese and spam sandwich? Oh baby.
 

Kylabelle

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I'm from Hawaii, I'm required to pitch spam at least once every 20 posts and I'm long overdue. :D


:roll:

I was waiting for the spam pitch.

what is it with Hawaii?
 

00Pepper

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I don't think I've ever in my life made a grilled cheese sandwich with grated cheese. I'm all about the American cheese Kraft singles! :D

Also, ever had a grilled cheese and spam sandwich? Oh baby.

Glad I'm not the only one but I'm totally trying that too...but with real butter of course. :D
 

sassandgroove

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Ezekiel 4;9 bread isn't too good raw, but you slap some cheese between to pieces, slather the outsides with butter and grill it in a cast iron skillet and it is GOOOOOOOOOOOD.
 

kikazaru

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How on earth have I never thought to use Velveeta for grilled cheese sandwiches? And I'm trying the tuna/velveeta sandwich too! :D

The are called "Tuna Melts" made open faced with the cheese on top of the tuna mixture. Post back with a report on what you thought if you make them. I think they are yummy!

Isn't if funny how polarizing a food is? I grew up with Velveeta so even though I rarely buy it (my kids don't care for it) I really enjoy it when I have it. I also grew up with "Spam" well actually a product called "Klik" which is basically the same thing. Every once in a while I'll buy it just to make my favourite sandwich filling which is finely minced Klik, finely minced onion, relish and mayo - and yes white bread is best with it but any type you like works too. The ladies who put on church teas here will make pinwheel sandwiches with this filling and they are the first to go!

Oh and sometimes I'll buy it, chill it so that I can slice it paper thin and then fry it til it is crispy and I'll eat the whole damn can.

PS I just want to say that I am a very healthy eater 99% of the time, but every once in a while there is that 1%...
 

kikazaru

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Is there no thread for the joys and perils of bad-for-you food?

I mean. Velveeta is only the gateway drug here. ETA: Ferret, we cross posted. :D

Pikko, how was the curry? I grew up eating a version of curry from a recipe I learned my mom got from my Aunt Helen who likely got it from a newspaper. We would sometimes have curried shrimp for holidays, with lovely little dishes of condiments: chutney, candied ginger, toasted almonds, crumbled bacon.

Ooh.

When I learned that people put potatoes in curry I had a very hard time coming to terms with that. Childhood food habits die hard, I guess.

I once worked with a very lovely lady from India named Mrdula and she gave me her favourite veggie curry recipe which was basically onions, cauliflower,and chopped potatoes, all fried til golden, then a small amount of water was added along with the curry and you mushed up a couple of the potatoes so that the curry water turned into a thicker sauce. Frozen peas were added at the end. She served it with a fried bread that was whole wheat flour, salt, and water made into an elastic dough, divided into small balls and then patted very thinly and fried in a hot teflon pan (no oil needed) til they puffed up and then you flipped them over to get the other side brown. This was my go to recipe when I needed something quick and tasty.
 

Pikko

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I sometimes make something my aunt calls "crispy spam" which is basically you slice it up and microwave it on high in intervals until all the oil is out and you only have a rock solid slice of very crispy spam. I don't eat it often because it's so dense and salty that you need to eat it with a TON of rice.

AND YET NOW I WANT SOME.

And I just so happen to have a ton of leftover rice, hahahaha!
 

cornflake

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HOW TO MAKE A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH:

1. Purchase Velveeta.
2. Read label on Velveeta.
3. Shudder. Dispose of Velveeta safely, away from children or animals.
4. Purchase some mature cheddar, and some fresh, smoked mozzarella or gouda and grate it.
5. Put a light layer of olive oil butter on one side of a piece of white rye or wheat bread. Flip it over. I actually prepare the sandwich and then butter the pan well and place the sandwich in the bubbly butter - penetrates the bread and seals a nice crust better imo, without fussing with buttering the bread.
6. Put layer of grated cheese on the unoiled side and season.
7. Put another piece of white bread on top. Oil butter top side of sandwich.
8. Put sandwich in a hot medium griddle pan. Put an iron pot lid on top to press it down. Nooooo - let cook gently until the cheese melts.
9. Flip over when bottom toasted and toast the top.
10. Serve with beer.

Fixed it for you! I like a medium heat - melts the cheese more thoroughly, gets in melted into the bread more than the quick press method.

You need smoked cheese involved though. :)